[unclemark369]

Has anybody swaped out their belt driven fan for an electric type fan system? I know you can gain horsepower, but is it enough to notice and how does the truck cool while idleing, say in heavy traffic on the 4th of July in 100 degree heat. I am thinking about this swap myself but dont know for shure or the specefics like where would you mount you coolant recovery bottle and windsheild washer tank, so on and so forth? Somebody slide a little advice my way.

 

[jprtroy]

I don't think you'll be happy running just electrics. I tried running my CJ-5's 6cyl on one, with 3 core rad. and the fan could not keep it cool.
Nothing say's you can't supplement your motor with one though. Theres plenty of room behind the radiator to mount a "puller"
I had consdered doing this, with the electric I have but since I replaced my radiator I've had no heating issues.

 

[WMIF]

i have 2 electric fans. one on my charger, and one on my chevelle. my charger works great and its only a 2 core radiator (soon to be 4 core). the chevelle on the otherhand does not, only because the fan does not have a shroud. as long as it has a good cfm rating and a shroud you should have no problem with JUST an electric fan. even in traffic.

 

[woody]

Flex-a-lite's 270-280 line should work:

http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/270_280.htm

One of my planned upgrades. 5500 cfm had better be enough...

And if the engine is cool (or you've deliberately switched the fans off for a minute or two), they can give you a 10+hp gain! You lose a LOT of hp spinning the fan when you're trying to accelerate.

But that's a big, dual-fan setup.

A few people I know are running the 260s, which aren't quite as much flow, and really like them.

 

[wickedakota]

I have one an my Dakota and so far it cools the engine really good. I hooked it up with a thermometer and a switch so when im out crawling around i can kick it on and cool then engine off.

 

[ComradePavloff]

I acually heard you lose horsepower. Something about how instead of the engine just spinning it itself, it now has a power drain due to the motor. I'm not sure though. Just a thought to throw out there.

 

[Gopher]

What the hell r u talking about pav????

 

[WMIF]

think about this...
try spinning a fan blade really fast. thats what your engine is doing with a belt driven fan. it has to fight the resistance of the air pushed by the fan.
now spin an alternator really fast. thats what you engine is already doing to power the rest of the engine/truck. this is letting an additional motor take care of the load.
there is nothing but hp gain here.

 

[ComradePavloff]

I dont know. I just heard this but always doubted it. I just wanted your guys perspective on this idea. Like I said, it isn't mine.

 

[ruffram]

I thought about getting a fan, but how do they do in water? I have had my stock fan in water and the clutcb lets it slip when hitting the water. With an elctric I guess you would need to shut it off. Also, how about mud and water inside the motor? Plus the reliability issue. If a wire comes loose or gets ripped out or the motor burns up, your truck is going nowhere fast. Stock fans are pretty much unbreakable. The power gain is undeniable, but there are several drawbacks.

 

[hybiak]

I know people with jeeps that have their fans wired into a swicth for deep water crossings. only bad thing is you have to remember to turn it on everytime you start the motor.

 

[HotChiliRam]

Does anybody knows the price of the Flex-A-Lite fans?, because I would like to get them. As I know (after testing one in a jeep that I had) the fans automaticly turns "on" and "off" depending on the engine temp., when you switch them "off", obviously you must turn them "on" after the water cross.:

 

[woody]

It would be fairly simple to wire a bypass switch that will turn the fan off for a crossing of deep water.

Definitely something that I would do.

Actually, what I would add is a timer so that it can only be off for a few minutes, and then it would come back on.

But the way you get HP gains from the electric fans is that when the fan ISN'T engaged, it's less of a load. When it's running it could be a different story.

Also, when running at highway speeds, the fan is being driven by the air comign through the radiators. With a mechanical fan, this may or may not be quite the same speed as the engine is going, which could create drag.

With the electrical fan, it just becomes a generator, and if properly wired (by them), just freewheels itself with no effect on the rest of the electrical system.

 

[mccomas]

HotChiliRam, the 260 is about $400.00. it looks like the 270 / 280 will cover a bit more of the radiator. i think the electric fan set up on the dodge is going to be between 400 to 500 bones... this is an expensive mod – not quite sure of the pay-off at this point. i know that my body lift dropped my fan shroud 3 inches and there is no way to get around this – i have never been happy about this. my truck has gotten a bit warmer than i care for when placed in extreme conditions. i am researching the 270 / 280 set up but want to be able to keep my stock shroud in place. the folks at flex warn not to use the electric fan if you have a 4-core radiator. i don’t know if our dodges have a 4-core radiator or not. these fans pull 3300 to 5500 CFMs. i don’t think the stock set up is close to pulling this much air.

for anyone running these, do you get any leakage around the upper radiator hose from the sensor wire coming out the side of the hose???

 

[96RAM2500]

One thing to think about is how much other electrical things are in the system(stereo systems and other electricly powered engine equipment). You don't want to overload the system. You must remember that at low speeds (offroading) your alternator doesn't charge as well.

 

[woody]

And another thing to remember is that all front-wheel-drive vehicles have electric fans, as do some SUVs.

 

[HotChiliRam]

MCCOMAS: Thanks for the answer, Does someome knows how many cores does the Ram´s radiator has?

 

[WMIF]

i belive that the 1500's have a 2 or 3 core radiator, but mine is a four core.

 

[jprtroy]

1500 have a 1 core radiator stock. My truck came with the tow package. I was a little shocked to see this, but after replacing it with a new one, I'm a beliver now. The single core is wide, 1.5" or so. Looks like a 2 core, but close inspection will reveal only 1 core.
The radiator for the diesel and V10 are freakin HUGH. 4 cores. I was able to view my new 1 core next to a diesel's radiator at the shop I ordered it from. My radiator was dwarfed by the diesels in width and length. I had considered swapping my 1 core out for 4 core from a V10, but 2 things prevented that. First being cost. 4 core ran $700+.Second was it's size. Physically wouldn't fit!

 

[WMIF]

i always figured that it would fit since its the same body and everything.